Dextro by Dextro

17.09.2009 - 09.10.2009
Dextro, the man behind the myth, I stumbled upon years back in 1999 while studying multimedia. At the time he was pioneering programmed art using tools and lingo like Macromedia's Director. Very clever animations would create the most intrigate little on-screen artworks, many also being online interactive pieces. Dextro has kept on very being active in this field, now using other means as well. For this show he will bring handmade artworks, something that is a recent development in his artistic production.

In association with:

Antistrot by Antistrot

18.07.2009 - 06.08.2009
Antistrot is a Dutch art collective based in Rotterdam. Established in 1997 at the Willem de KooningAcademy, Antistrot’s members express themselves artistically by means of painting, drawing, photography and various other disciplines. Best known for their eclectic paintings on both canvas and walls, Antistrot has proven itself a force to be reckoned with. Having exhibited in New York City, Miami, Berlin, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Dublin (to name a few), Antistrot’s body of work is both impressive and all over the place. Taking images and experiences from both everyday life and the imagination of it’s members, Antistrot serves the viewer a humoristic and sometimes disturbing take on the world around us.

In association with:

Jennifer Skupin Bang, you’re dead

20.03.2009 - 19.04.2009
‘Bang, you’re dead’ is an exhibition by Jennifer Skupin. Over several installations, she explores war and why we choose to indulge in it.

The pieces are playful but their intent is serious: a plea for peace. Prime among them is a pillow fight on a huge scale, an experiment in helping visitors vent their frustrations in a safe manner. The pillows are shaped like throwing stars and are made from old army blankets.

Other pieces show a similar interest with the intersection between our childish and more violent tendencies. War toys in particular recur over and over, perhaps raising certain questions in viewers’ minds. For instance, do the toys we give our kids teach them to fight? Equally disturbing: if war really is hell, why exactly do we participate in it time and again?

An awareness of the wider world and its problems can be traced in Skupin’s work prior to this. For instance, she’s produced eco-centred product design for the experimental brand ‘do,’ memorial candles for endangered species and designer polar bear-themed t-shirts (these won the Graniph award). She also knitted pullovers for penguins and found a way to turn a book back into a tree. In the web art project www.wewatchatreegrow.com, she draws our awareness to the simply beauty of plant-life sprouting in real time.

Jennifer has been making conceptual pieces for many years now. She was born in 1979 and studied in Münster, Germany. An Art Director and Designer for renowned Dutch creative agency, KesselsKramer, she lives in Amsterdam. For KK, recent projects include an exhibition at the Venice Biennale as well as commercial jobs for Experimenta Design and The Hans Brinker Budget Hotel. She designed several books and made short films for the experimental series "Kijkers". Skupin has also taught at international colleges.

In association with:

Anita Fontaine & Mike Pelletier CuteXdoom II

13.02.2009 - 08.03.2009
Maxalot is pleased to announce the exhibition of CuteXdoom II, the second installment in Fontaine’s ongoing body of work that transmorphs commercial technologies to surprising new ends. CuteXdoom II manipulates the platform of Unreal Tournament, a traditionally violent videogame, to address the themes of obsession and fanatical adherence to ideologies, with particular reference to Japanese otaku culture. In the first level, the protagonist’s mission is to join the “supermodern religious cult” of CuteXdoom, whose main tenet details that the worship of cute material objects leads to happiness and enlightenment. This objective is analogous to the real-world materialism of kawaii worshippers who engage in endless consumption of seemingly harmless “cute” products for an illusive sense of satisfaction. CuteXdoom is designed as an immersive installation and interactive gaming environment, incorporating customized “ideology” wallpaper, a modified joypad, and stereo surround sound. In addition, a series of original and limited edition prints and unique, 3D printed sculptures based on the game’s conceptual framework will be displayed. The resultant heightened sensory overload bridges virtual and real worlds, referencing today’s current information explosion and media saturation.

®arstpace Amsterdam
Maxalot Gallery. Haringpakkersteeg 10-18. 1012 Amsterdam. Netherlands
talk: +31 6 2450 4540 online: www.maxalot.com

In association with:

Kustaa Saksi The Heroes

11.12.2008 - 30.12.2008
When he’s not conferring with clients in exotic locations or having tea with Imelda Marcos (true story!), Kustaa Saksi creates retro-futuristic kaleidoscopic imagery that is both daunting and irresistible. Inviting the glossy to flirt with the organic, he creates a genre of new world psychadelia that is all his own. "The Heroes" will feature computer-generated 3D busts of Kustaa’s new series of war hero characters, large-scale never-before-seen prints of his signature landscapes, and an introduction to his new book of retrospective work “Off-Piste In The Land of Kustaa Saksi”. The legendary Boudisque building in central Amsterdam plays host to Maxalot Pop-Up Gallery for Kustaa Saksi’s new exhibition.

®arstpace Amsterdam
Maxalot Pop-up Gallery at Boudisque
Haringpakkersteeg 10-18. 1012 Amsterdam. Netherlands
talk: +31 6 2450 4540 online: www.maxalot.com

In association with: